


O, Learn to Read what Silent Love hath Writ

by brotective



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Inspired by Romeo and Juliet, Love Confessions, Shakespearean Sonnets, Stage Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 04:19:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17379419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brotective/pseuds/brotective
Summary: Even when Kaoru can’t find the words, on stage and off, she has always been in love with Chisato.





	O, Learn to Read what Silent Love hath Writ

**Author's Note:**

> im gonna be real here. i 30% wrote this to procrastinate on actually learning sonnet 23 and the other 70% is my spite for craftegg ignoring the fact that these two made out on stage

Kaoru’s words all started to sound the same to Chisato.

Every woman was the same to her—someone to play with the feelings of, and she could barely come up with original phrasing to do it. Chisato had no idea how anyone could fall for her as so many had, even if she had cared about her in childhood.

Kaoru often had trouble knowing what to say, overcompensating for each mistake by digging herself in deeper. Her emotions often took over, but showing them would lose her audience on the world’s stage—so she didn’t, utilizing platitudes to avoid getting hurt.

She thought often about being in love. She knew often that she was in love—Chisato, who had entranced her heart in childhood, had leapt back into her life. Kaoru wanted to hold her in her arms, but she continued slipping through her fingers, and often, Kaoru wondered what had changed so terribly.

When Kaoru called Chisato to ask about her potential involvement in the production of Romeo and Juliet, Chisato barely even knew why she said yes. Perhaps she knew that actors were at their most vulnerable backstage. Perhaps some part of her, knowing that, wanted to be able to love Kaoru again.

Besides, she wouldn’t mind being able to see Maya on the lighting crew even if everything went south. What reason was there to not join the cast? Therefore, she did.

Even in their first read-through, Kaoru became a completely different person when she took on the role of Romeo. She was still a somewhat foolish youth with a love of poetry and prose, but her actions said all. She wasn’t even on stage, but as she spoke with Juliet for the first time, her eyes sparkled and her voice grew tender, as afflicted by love as Romeo was.

“If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”

She was in love, wholeheartedly in love, every word she spoke was love. Romeo was love—hasty, stupid, tender. In that moment, looking in her Juliet’s eyes, she became the young lover who once again fell into a beauteous thing she could never escape.

Outside of the play, though, Kaoru’s words were still the same words. For some odd fear, she failed to say the ceremony of love’s rite any differently than she would to those around her.

The next few rehearsals were dedicated to blocking the performance, and finally, they took one to run through all of the first two acts.

Juliet was dancing with a knight, her dress flowing behind her, and Romeo’s heart burned bright as soon as he saw her in the room—a beacon, who he fell for despite never even seeing her face.

So he approached her, as his friends went off to dance, and suddenly, Kaoru and Chisato were the only people in the room.

Their palms touched as they spoke, and Juliet pulled up her mask, but Romeo could not afford to show his visage.

“Saints do not move, yet grant for prayers’ sake.”

“Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.”

With this, Kaoru laced their touching fingers together, putting her other hand gently on Chisato’s waist, and kissing her tenderly. Her hands shook and her face warmed, and Chisato closed her eyes, warming to Kaoru’s kiss until she pulled back moments later.

“Thus, from my lips by thine, my sin is purged.”

“Then have my lips the sin that thee had took.”

Kaoru smiled at her, almost playfully, and Chisato was drawn back to each time they were alone in their childhood—Kaoru seemed so comfortable, but so raw and unchanging all at once, and Chisato wished it could be like this forever. “Sin from thy lips? O, trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.”

Kaoru kissed her once more, a new confidence in her touch as the two found themselves drawing subtly closer, lips clinging together like they never wanted to let go.

As it came to an unfortunate end, Kaoru took a somewhat nervous step back, looking at Chisato with a hopeful eye—and she most certainly delivered.

Chisato breathed out lightly, a smile subconsciously gracing the corners of her mouth. “...you kiss by the book.”

Soon Romeo made his exit—and not much later, Juliet did as well, and they took their brief moment backstage as the chorus spoke to talk to each other.

“Fantastic job, dearest Juliet.”

Chisato nodded. “I suppose we should keep it up. I thought you especially understood our scene well—have you studied it before?”

“No, but I must admit I understand Romeo. Seeing his beloved in the dim light, unable to lift his mask even as he kisses her... it’s a lovely metaphor, and I appreciate the way our director staged it.”

“Well, I’m surprised to say that I’m almost glad to be working with you. I look forward to our next scene together.”

“As do I. Oh, and Chisato, I must say...” She breathed in deeply, letting herself look down at her. “To hear with eyes belongs to love’s fine wit.”

Chisato’s look became a bit more cold. “...perhaps you should prepare for your cue. I must be ready for mine, too.”

She turned and walked away, only considering what Kaoru had said once she left.

Surely, she had no idea what she was saying. She rarely did, and especially with such an obscure sonnet, it felt like an empty quote.

But what an odd line to pull from, if she truly didn’t know—without the context, it made hardly any sense.

Chisato decided to watch Kaoru a bit more closely, to see if some silent love had writ anything at all.

Then there was the ever-famous balcony scene, one that Kaoru and Chisato both knew well.

Distance was integral to the scene, and they knew that well, too.

Romeo approached the side of the stage, as the set crew had warned them that the balcony wasn’t yet safe, and Kaoru began.

She was careful, quiet, before looking up at Chisato without a care in the world—and the lights illuminated an angelic halo around her, and Kaoru choked on her words.

As Romeo believed Juliet was the sun, Kaoru knew that Chisato was.

Each time Kaoru reached to her was love, and each time their fingertips nearly touched was love, and Kaoru melting into a puddle in her uniform when Juliet promised Romeo her heart was love, because Kaoru was in love.

Kaoru was in love on the day of the festival, too, and Chisato seemed like she didn’t know. Else, she might have changed her behavior, but she had not.

By that point, they had gotten more than used to kissing, but it didn’t stop the rush of adrenaline as they shared such a thing with the audience—after all, Kaoru knew and Romeo would know that this may be one of the only chances they get to love each other.

When they kissed again, Kaoru lingered for a moment too long, held her a bit closer, and allowed herself to be lost in the moment. Perhaps it was selfish, but she had loved Chisato all her life, and she needed an extra moment.

Chisato played it off for the audience, murmuring her line just loud enough, but the surprise in her eyes said everything.

At curtain call, they watched the others bow and receive great applause from the audience—and as they finally stood up from their graves with a blood pack still running down Chisato’s dress, they bowed separately. Then, they connected their hands together, bowing as one, and Chisato squeezed Kaoru’s hand gently with a slight smile at her as they stood back up.

In that moment, she was thankful for her stage makeup as her face grew hot beneath it.

“...you could have just told me you didn’t have the words. No need to be quite so cryptic,” Chisato said softly in the dressing room, sticking a hand into her dress and pulling the near-emptied bag out.

“It’s not the sort of thing a woman like me could admit,” Kaoru responded, keeping her voice low as well. The rest of the cast didn’t need to know, after all. “Despite what you may think, I am still Kaoru.”

“It’s okay. I’m here for you, and... I’m glad I agreed to perform with you by my side. You had a surprisingly nuanced understanding of Romeo’s character.” She worked on wiping the fake blood off of herself as she spoke.

“I suppose I have experience being a lovestruck fool.” Kaoru slid off her tunic, replacing it with her uniform shirt. “And you were a fantastic Juliet. You played her intellect and rational nature quite well, without giving up the tenderness of youth.”

“My band helped me with that. Of course, being with you in a performance like this again helped, too.” She giggled a bit. “And you’re a good kisser, Kao-chan.”

Kaoru realized then and there exactly what Romeo felt like when he died.

“Um, you—you don’t have to call me that, you know! Maybe... um, when it’s just the two of us... but-“

“Is that you asking me out? ...again?”

Kaoru was practically curled up into a ball at this point, seeing Chisato looking at her that way—much less speaking that way to her. Her voice grew higher with embarrassment. “Now you’re just doing this on purpose...!”

She laughed, and Kaoru was pretty sure she was secretly an angel without wings. “Don’t worry. You’re cuter that way, you know.”

The whole dressing room could probably hear them at this point, despite their attempts to be quiet, but, well... theatre was a family, after all. If Kaoru trusted these people so much, then Chisato could, too.

Their designer, who had also played the role of Samson, looked around the mostly clean dressing room. “All right, you guys are clear.” As quickly as they had entered, the actresses all began clearing out.

“Shall we go greet our adoring fans?” Kaoru asked, offering Chisato a hand.

Chisato took it. “We shall.”

And they did, and although—as was typical for star-crossed lovers—the grips on their hands and the love in their words loosened in the public eye, their actions spoke wholly.

**Author's Note:**

> i love them. anyway stan bencutio goodbye


End file.
